Born To Die
by Ssuperrad
Summary: I never knew when I suggested him for this project that it would turn our lives upside down the way it has. I never realized the dangers we would face, the heartache we would feel or the sadness it would bring. My name is Edith Elizabeth Barnes. James Buchanan Barnes is my twin brother, I am in love with Steven Rogers... and we are all three... born to die.
1. IntroductionSummary

Hello All,

So this is a re-write of one of my earlier stories, and I'm proud to say that I'm finally very happy with it.

This is the idea that Bucky had a twin sister who was the weaker of the two twins. She was very similar in health to Steve. Edith Barnes has been in love with Steven Rogers since they were children who grew up to become a nurse in the army.

Edith ended up working for Dr. Erskine and the military base that did the Captain America Project, suggesting Steve for the procedure.

This is a pre-story for the Avengers that will be in three parts. This is part one and will cover the time period of when Steve is found and unfrozen to just before the Avengers. The story will also cover the back-story from when Bucky, Steve and Edith were children all the way through Iron Man one and two. It's complicated but stick with it! It will all make sense over time!

Please give the story a chance and I hope you enjoy

Thanks!

SR


	2. Holding Out for a Hero

**Hello All, here is the first chapter of Born to Die. As with any story, I do not own Marvel or any of it's fine characters, I do own Edith Barnes/Stark though and she's pretty cool.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **SF**

 **ooooooooooooooooooooooo**

 **Born to Die**

Chapter One:

Holding out for a Hero

Holding out for a Hero - Ella Mae Bowen

"Where have all the good men gone

And where are all the gods?

Where's the street-wise Hercules

To fight the rising odds?

Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?

Late at night I toss and turn and dream of what I need

I need a hero..."

oooooooooooooooooooooo

"This isn't going to work..."

The entire plan was asinine in her opinion actually, everything in the stupid staged room was wrong. From the overly accentuated furnishings to the old news broadcasting crackling out of the ancient radio sitting on a nightstand... it all was crap. For the life of her she could not understand how any of these idiots could think this was a good idea; but of course she couldn't say anything. Not yet anyways.

Damn Tony for not being here today... she could use the extra support.

"I beg your pardon Ms. Stark, but I think a room full of the countries leading Historians would tend to disagree with you."

Edith Stark inwardly cringed; she hated being spoken down to like a petulant child. No matter how many times it happened she never seemed to get used to it...

Director Fury stalked up behind her, eyeballing the video monitors that portrayed Steven Rogers lying asleep on a standard issue army hospital bed.

"This room is not only accurately staged to the time era, it is exactly what Captain Rogers would have woken up to in 1942 had he been pulled out of the ocean instead of left there to rot."

She decided to let that one slide, there was no way for him to know how much of a jab that was.

"He would be greeted by nurses dressed in the exact uniform Agent Mayheart is currently wearing, hear the real news casting that actually took place in 1942 and he wouldn't question a damned thing about it! I think the man will have more pressing questions on his mind!"

Fury paused to angle himself between Edith and the screens.

"Now I know that your father held a crucial part in the founding of SHIELD, founded Stark Industries, and was a personal friend of Captain Rogers... I also know that your brother happens to be Iron Man. But frankly Ms. Stark, _you_ are not your father... or your brother, and _I_ will not hesitate to have you escorted off of the premises should you test my patients any further. Do we have an understanding?"

Edith rolled her eyes. Men...

" I meant no offense, simply thinking out loud..." She waved him off absentmindedly and fixed her eyes back to the screens, she could see faint movement coming from the slumbering Captain.

No matter how many times she looked at him, the near crippling emotions just would not subside. They were as strong now as they had been when she first laid her eyes on him in the intensive care unit a month ago.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 _Machines beeped everywhere and whole floor smelled like ammonia. She hated hospitals, always had and always will._

 _They reminded her of death... her own death._

 _"We're honored that you could join us in re-introducing Captain Rogers to the world Mr. Stark..." The doctor prattled on as they walked down the narrow corridors that were fluorescently lit; Iron Man mania saw no limits._

 _Blah, blah... tissue regeneration. Blah, blah... muscle depletion. "...your father was greatly respected..."_

 _She couldn't make herself focus on a single world the man was saying; she just watched his graying comb-over flutter as he clomped along. All she could think of was seeing him with her own eyes... Steve._

 _Tony kept a firm hand at the small of her back, guiding her as they passed multiple doors. He occasionally would whisper encouraging things into her ear or run his hand up and down her spine in an effort to ease her growing tension._

 _Lost in the deep recesses of her mind, she was pulled to a screeching halt by Tony's hands gripping her slender shoulders._

 _"I must warn you Mr. and Ms. Stark, it is a little unsettling at first. He is still being treated for the extreme frost damage that was done to his body, his coloring is slightly abnormal."_

 _The balding doctor had his hand on the doorknob leading to the room that contained her greatest fear, a veritable Pandora's box filled with 70 years worth of turmoil._

 _"Are you ready?" Dr. comb-over peered at them skeptically._

 _Edith froze, was she ready? What a loaded question... Sure buddy, why not, I've only had all the time in the fucking world to play out every single scenario that could have ever presented itself._

 _Her ears were roaring so loudly that she barely heard Tony answer the man and watched in silent horror as he swiped his clearance card to open the large metal door._

 _Forces that were unbeknownst to her carried her through the threshold, numb legs drifting her closer to the mass that occupied the hospital bed stationed in the center of the room._

 _Her tear ducts immediately began pouring hot salty tears as she focused her eyes onto the blue-ish face of Steven Rogers. Despite the discoloration, his face was just as she last remembered seeing it, high cheekbones and full lips all framed by his broad chin and jaw..._

 _A hero..._

 _Thankfully Tony had managed to shoo the doctor from the room before Edith completely lost her composure and began open mouth sobbing. Dropping into the chair beside him she took his frosty hand and pressed it to her cheek. His cold skin was eerie, like touching a corpse, yet she couldn't bring herself to let go._

 _"Just breathe Edie Bear... take it a few seconds at a time, don't try and take it all in right away." Tony's hands ran up and down her goose flesh covered arms._

 _She ran her fingertips up his stone cold cheek and brushed aside his hair before leaning forward to press her lips to his forehead._

 _"Till the end of the line..."_

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Ok people, Showtime! Everyone take your places, this is not a drill, and I repeat this is not a drill!"

Fury's voice rang out loud and clear, wrenching Edith's mind back to the present. She could see from the monitor that Steve was awake and beginning to sit up. Familiar tears began to sting her eyes as she placed her hand up against the hot screen.

A female Agent let herself into the room and began to speak to Steve, his confusion clearly evident as he quickly scanned the small room.

The floor was a blur of people scuffling about, taking their places and waiting. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until she locked her eyes on four men holding military grade semi automatic riffles.

"What the hell is that for?" She couldn't hide the outrage in her voice, absentmindedly throwing her pointed finger in their direction.

"Don't be naive Ms. Stark, you of all people should know the necessity for such measures... After all, aren't you the co-owner of the company that produces said measures?"

Anger boiled in her gut...

"Be that as it may Fury... if any of your men so much as points one of those things at Steve, I will personally shatter their teeth so fast you won't have time to blink. Do I make MYself clear?"

The small radio in the staged room switched suddenly from the news and began to report the results of a local Baseball game. Even through the pixilated screen, Edith could see Steve's ears shoot back.

"No...no, no, no." Edith felt herself freeze. "You cannot be fucking serious, a room full of your top Historians and not one of you idiots figured out that that game happened BEFORE Steve went down?!"

"How in the hell would you know that this game happened before he went down and furthermore, how the hell would he ever even know… or care?" Fury eyed her, placing his hands on his hips.

"Because Directory Fury..." Her voice rose with her growing agitation. "Steve was at that game in late December 1941 when it happened and _I_ know this because _I_ was sitting in the seat right next to him!"

"Abort, abort! Get Agent Mayheart out of there now!" An agent's frantic voice shot out of the speakers above.

Both snapped their attention back to the screen as the female agent was wrenched out of the room away from a frantic Steve. Several male agents descended upon him as he lowered himself into a crouch.

"All agents to the re-animation room now!" Fury barked into his intercom.

The four men with large guns began to fall into line and move in the direction of the room. Before Edith could stop herself she wrenched the gun out of the last mans hands, flipping it over and cracking the butt of the gun into his nose sending him crashing down in a spurt of blood. The other three whirled around and closed in on her. Without even thinking she threw up her leg to deliver a kick to the throat of one of the men, sending his head crashing into the concrete wall behind him. Edith was grabbed from behind by one of the remaining two and using his grip to bring both legs up and deliver a thrusting blow to the face of the other man before using the momentum of her body weight to flip the last man over herself before cracking him as well with the butt of the gun still in her hands.

She dropped the gun, straightened her shirt and silently thanked herself for having the good sense to wear jeans today instead of the dress she had originally picked out.

Fury simply stared at her with a wide eye and gaped mouth. "You and I are going to have a very long talk when this is over... a LONG talk... HUGE!"

Fury turned himself away from her as he barked orders into his intercom. "Draw back all force from Captain Rogers, I repeat, all force is to be drawn back. Give me his location NOW."

"He's heading for the main doors sir." his speaker crackled back.

Fury grabbed her arm and led her out towards the main entryway to SHIELD.

"Alright Ms. Whoever the hell you are... you better get your game face on because I need you get Captain Rogers back in here before he busts up anymore of my men. I can only hold them off for so long."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Steve could see the light pouring out of the glass doors ahead of him... so close. His pulse was thundering in his ears, where the hell was he? Panic fueled his fatigued muscled as he neared his freedom. Hands outstretched, he burst through the barrier and was immediately flooded with blinding sunlight.

He staggered back as shapes began to come into focus...

Large building loomed overhead with strange billboards plastered over them; bright colors and fast movement muddled his thoughts. So many people swarmed around him, bumping into him and nudging him out of the way.

Where am I?!

"At Ease, Soldier..." A large dark man immerged from the swarm of people; an eye patch placed over one eye. "Look I'm sorry about that little show back there, but we thought it would be best to break it to you slowly."

"Break what?" Steve could think of nothing more intelligent to say, it was all too disorienting.

"I honestly don't think that I'm the right person to tell you that Captain..."

The man stepped aside to reveal a young woman.

She was tall, not overly tall but tall nonetheless and her skin was bone white. Her chocolate brown hair hung past her shoulders in soft waves and was tucked back behind her ear on one side. She wore snug trousers that were made of what looked like denim and a plain white t-shirt, the kind that men wore under their button up shirts. She looked completely unfamiliar to him... He didn't know her from Eve.

But then he looked into her eyes...

Her green eyes, with an all too familiar hazel ring around the pupil, held so much...birthdays, Christmas's. Any and all major milestones were recorded in those eyes.

The only problem was the rest of her didn't match...

"Edith?" His resolve was quickly crumbling, none of this made sense.

The woman slowly came forward until they stood almost toe-to-toe; her eyes were red and puffy, streaks staining her porcelain face. A slow smile spread across her tear stained face as she brought her hands up to brush back his hair.

"Yea Steve, it's me..." She took his hands in hers "I swear I will explain all of this to you but right now you need to come inside with me."

"What's going on? Where are we?" Panic began to spread up his spine.

Edith cut him off by pressing the tips of her fingers gently to his lips. "Shh… You've been asleep Steve..."

"For how long?"

Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she moved forward to wrap her arms around him.

"Too long..."

oooooooooooooooooooooo

"I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night

He's gotta be strong, he's gotta be fast

And he's gotta be fresh from the fight

I need a hero"

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Thank you so much for reading, please let me know what you thought. Feedback is always appreciated

Thank you!

SF


	3. Follow My Feet

**Alright! Chapter two! Please feel free to review, I would love some feedback as to what you all think of the story.**

 **As per usual, I do not own Marvel, just my OC's**

 **Thanks!**

 **SF**

 **oooooooooooooooooo**

 **Born to Die**

Chapter Two:

Follow my Feet

Follow my Feet - The Unlikely Candidates

"There's a fork in the road in front of me,

At the crossroads of identity.

The Devil is standing to the left.

He says 'Either way, they both lead to death.'

And the high road's steady and steep,

And the low roads easy and deep.

Guess I'll follow, follow, follow my feet.

Guess I'll follow, follow, follow my feet..."

oooooooooooooooooooo

 _1942_

 _"You don't have to do this you know, no one's forcing you. You could just walk away and no one would care... I promise."_

 _Edith sat on the cot across from Steve, her hands clasped between her shaking knees in front of her._

 _When she had suggested Steve for Dr. Erskine's project she hadn't fully understood what exactly would take place. But upon learning just what the doctors intended to do left her feeling not only horrified but terribly guilty... this could cost Steve his life._

 _"You don't get it Edith, this is my chance! This is my one opportunity to serve my country and not from the side lines, I could actually be out there... doing something instead of helplessly watching as innocent people are killed."_

 _Steve stood and began to pace as Edith watched, perched on the edge of the cot._

 _"How could you even suggest that? Everyone is able to do something except for me! Bucky enlisted, he's serving his country! Hell, even you're serving, you're a nurse Edith, even you get to make a difference! Why can't I?!"_

 _"That's different! I'm not in the line of duty Steve; I'm not being shot at!"_

" _And Bucky? What about him huh? I didn't see you pulling back your brothers arm when he went to enlist."_

" _That was different! Bucky's…"_

" _Bucky's what?! How was Bucky any different than me?"_

 _Edith could only stare at him, tears beginning to well in her eyes._

 _When she said nothing Steve stopped pacing and scowled down at her._

" _Because Bucky's stronger than me… he's bigger, faster and I'm just some what? Pathetic scrawny loser?! Is that what it is Edith? I'm not good enough for this project, is that what you think?!"_

" _No! That's not what I said, I never said that!"_

" _But that's what you think… you look me dead in the eye and tell me you think I can do this just as good as Bucky or any other guy out there!"_

" _Steve please…"_

" _Tell me!" Steve dropped down to look her in the eyes._

 _All she could do was slowly shake her head from side to side as the tears slipped down her cheeks. Steve searched her green eyes before abruptly jerking away from her to stride to the door._

" _You know if anyone understood what I'm trying to do, it should be you… You know what it's like for people to treat you with kit gloves, like you could break in half at any second." Steve paused at the door to give her a sad glance. "I never thought you'd be the one to doubt me…"_

 _Before she could say anything the heavy door clicked shut after him, leaving Edith alone in the stone silent room. Looking around she caught a glimpse of herself in one of the mirrors._

'… _if anyone understood what I'm trying to do it, should be you…'_

 _Steve's words ghosted around in her conflicted skull, she knew exactly what he meant… She was just as weak and pathetic as he was…She was no great beauty, not anything like Agent Carter with her tall frame and long legs._

 _No, Edith was an entirely different sort. At only 5 foot tall weighing just 90 lbs soaking wet she would never pass for someone that anyone would call beautiful. Her mousy brown hair hung in frizzy tufts that she tried in vain to conceal in one long braid down her back. Her eyes were hidden behind thick wire framed lenses that sat atop her small freckled nose._

 _They were two of a kind, she and Steve. Both had been sickly from birth, she had been the weaker twin to her brother James and Steve had been born with a weak immune system._

 _He was right… if anyone understood, it should be her…_

 _Oooooooooooooooooooooo_

Edith stared at him through the two way glass mirror that separated them from the hospital room where Steve was being poked and prodded by various nurses; taking vitals and testing muscle density.

The look in his eyes made her heart ache, his whole world has just been turned upside down and he could do nothing about it.

At least he wouldn't be alone… he'd never have to be alone, because if there was one person that understood this, it was her.

"Ms. Stark!" Fury's words made her jump. "Have you been listening to anything I've been saying?"

"Honestly? I haven't been listening at all… Mr. Fury… Directory Fury? What's the deal with that, is Fury your last name or something because that is kind of awesome..."

"Just Fury is fine, whatever you want to call me is fine; I don't give a good God damn! You know what I do give a damn about? Figuring out what the hell I'm going to do with the geriatric strong-man sitting on the other side of that glass! We've got to get him set up within SHIELD, find him a place to live, not to mention catch him up on the last 70 years! This isn't something that just…"

"No…" Edith continued to stare at her hands as she sat nursing her 3rd cup of coffee.

"Excuse me? What do you mean no?! Do you think we're just going to release some mentally unstable meat slab out onto the streets of New York with outrageous muscle mass and super human strength? Might as well just give a body builder some bath salts and set him loose in a Chuck E Cheese!"

"That's lovely… But no, I mean that he will not be joining SHIELD. I made my feelings about you people perfectly clear the last time you and I spoke Mr. Fury, I want nothing to do with any of you. And as for the living arrangement, you won't be finding him an apartment here in New York. Steve will be coming back with me to California."

Fury started to protest but Edith silenced him by holding out a single finger, earning her a rather scathing one-eyed glare.

"Before you try and tell me I can't, I would just like to point out that he has absolutely no ties to your organization or the military anymore for that matter. His terms of service would have long since been expired; he's just a regular Joe now. You people think that you can just waltz on in and claim someone as your own without their consent; you've done it with countless people and tried to do it with Tony! But I will be damned..."

"You people?" Fury set his hands on the table, lowering his gaze down with hers as they squared off.

A sharp knock against the glass snapped both of their attention to the two-way mirror where Steve stood.

"Does anyone want to know what I want? I'm 94… not deaf."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You still haven't told me how this is possible…" Steve made a sweeping hang gesture up and down Edith's tall frame. "The last time I saw you, which was apparently 70 years ago, you were at least 8 inches shorter and less… uhh... not as…"

"Fit?" His stammering made her smile.

"Yes… fit, that is the word I was going to use." A shy smile spread across his face. "But seriously Edith, what did you do?"

That was a tough question…

That was the question that had plagued her for many, many years. How could she tell him that she sacrificed her entire life in the vain fantasy that Steve would look at her as more than just his best friend's dopey sister? That she traded any and all chances of ever having a normal life just in the hopes that someday… he would love her the way that she had loved him.

"You're going to call me the world's biggest hypocrite and probably never let it go." She shifted uncomfortably in her chair opposite him. "After the success of your procedure they had decided that they would take the last vial of Dr. Erskine's serum and make you a partner, they figured that if one public figure was good…two would be even better. They began designing what would later be called the Lady Liberty project."

She slumped back in her chair and blew out a gush of air.

"Long story short I volunteered for the project… and here I am."

"I still don't understand though, I've been frozen for the last 70 years. You've been living your life. You should look much less… much less…"

Edith smirked at him.

"You know what I mean." Steve cleared his throat. "You look like you wouldn't have aged a day…"

Waves of sadness washed over her, she knew this would be difficult, just not this difficult.

"Because I haven't… The serum did something to us Steve, it changed us… mutated our cells. A normal person's cells will deteriorate over time; they will wear down and grow old until you eventually die. Do you remember how they mentioned that you could never get drunk? That's because your metabolism is too fast, you will literally burn off the alcohol before you feel the effects. It's the same thing with our cells; they repair themselves so quickly that our bodies will never show any signs of wear or age… "

Edith took a deep breath and drew her legs up to her chest, resting her chin on her knees.

"We'll never die Steve… at least not of old age. The way we look today is the way we will look in 70 more years." A small tear slipped down her cheek but she brushed it away quickly.

Steve balked. She could see a million different questions flash through his eyes as he tried to process what she was telling him.

"It's a lot to take in all at once Steve, just try…"

"Will this be passed on to our kids?" He paused

"Not like that… not OUR kids?" Steve cleared his throat. "What will happen to their DNA?"

Despite how much she wanted to laugh at his awkwardness, more tears sprang forth and slipped down.

"There won't be any kids Steve, at least not for me… another wonderful consolation prize!" She let out a soggy, bitter laugh. "As 'perfect' as my DNA is I'll never pass it on. I have no idea what this has don't to your… business, but my body repairs itself far too quickly to ever carry a child to term…"

"Edith…" Steve moved to scoot his chair next to her.

"Ms. Stark, Director Fury needs to have a word with you before we release Mr. Rogers into your custody." A young agent softly interrupted from the door.

"Certainly, give me a minute." Edith let her legs down from her chair and began to gather her purse.

"Wait, did he just call you Stark? Why did he call you Stark?" Steve was staring at her with an expression she couldn't quite pin point.

"That's my last name Steve…"

"Your last name? How can that be your last name unless you… Did you marry Howard?!"

His outraged expression made her nervous, this was going to be harder to explain than she thought… Maybe some things were better left unsaid.

"No Steve, it's a bit more complicated than that."


	4. Kodachrome

Hello all, I am so sorry for the delay in posting new chapters, life has been a tad challenging lately but things have begun to smooth out. Here is chapter 3, hopefully everyone is liking the story so far. I'm really excited to move forward with Steve and Edith's story, I promise it's a good one!

Again, I own nothing, just Edith

 **ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

 **Born to Die**

Chapter 3:

Kodachrome

Kodachrome – Paul Simon

"Kodachrome

They give us those nice bright colors

They give us the greens of summers

Makes you think all the world's

A sunny day, o yea

I got a Nikon camera

I love to take a photograph

So mama don't take my Kodachrome away"

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was a shame that their metabolism was so fast, after the third bump of turbulence Edith could swear that the bones of Steve's knuckles were going to jab right out of his skin. A scotch would have really taken the edge off.

Not that it really ever stopped her form indulging; she was a sucker for a 25-year-old Glenfarclas. Just because she couldn't get messed up didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the taste.

"You sure you're alright?" She sat across the aisle watching him put small but sure dents in the armrests.

"Yea…" He grunted as another jolt of movement rocked the plane "It's just… the last time I was in the air things didn't go so well."

Edith regarded him for a moment before pulling out her tablet and crossing the aisle to plop into the seat next to him. "Here, I'll try and distract you for a while."

She booted up the tablet and began to bring up her digital photo albums.

"What is that?" Steve looked skeptical as she swept her fingers over the smooth surface.

"It's called a tablet, it's a… well it's a newer version of a laptop. It's… it's like a computer…"

Steve only stared at her in confusion.

"I guess that's something we'll need to go over later; I'm gonna show you some pictures!" She let out a small snort as she moved in close to Steve.

"To answer your earlier inquiry, I was never married to Howard. I woke up after you had gone down and the project was scraped. I'd lost Bucky and you, and later found out that I was listed as killed in action. I didn't have the heart to go to my parents and tell them what Id' done. They were already mourning all of us. Howard offered to help me out; we looked for you for years Steve… I want you to know that."

Her eyes searched his for a few seconds

"We just sort of stuck together after that, Howard's life went on and I stayed frozen in time; after a while we started to pass me off as his sister. That was until he had his son, that's when we began calling me his daughter…"

The first picture showed Edith wearing a full-length black gown that clung to her ample curves and displayed a healthy amount of cleavage. She stood next to an exuberant Tony who had his arm snugly around her and was planting a kiss to her temple. The photo had been taken last year at the Stark Expo.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Steve's quick assumption caused a fit of giggles to pour from her.

"Dear God no! Oh man that's funny, Tony will get a real kick out of that later. No, no, that's Anthony Stark; Howard's only son."

Ooooooooooooooo

Steve balked at the photograph, Howard's son. It had never occurred to him that Howard would have children, let alone have a child as old as he remembered him to be.

Tony was an exact copy of Howard, from his sharp dark eyes all the way to his arrogant wide smile. He embodied Howard so much it made Steve's heart hurt; he would never see Howard again…

That was not the only thing in the photo that was affecting him. As he stared at the photo of Edith he could feel his pulse begin to pick up. She looked mesmerizing in the skintight dress with, everything, on display.

She had always been pretty, in a way; she hadn't been ugly… just plain.

The woman that sat so close to him now was anything but plain. He was having a hard time pulling his eyes away from her full lips as she spoke.

What was wrong with him? He'd barely been awake for more than a few days. He had way more important things to be concerned with, like the fact that he had been catapulted 70 years into the future, like finding out if any of the howling commando's were still alive… like Peggy.

That was something he wouldn't acknowledge until later…

She continued to flip through the pictures; the next one was of her, Howard and who he guessed to be a young Tony. She wore a two-piece bathing suit with a really high waist; holding the toddler she stood next to a much older looking Howard. They were at the beach standing in the sand while water splashed at their feet.

"We used to live in Long Island before we moved to Los Angeles. The beach was Tony's favorite place; I really miss those days."

The look on her face when she spoke was amazing; she beamed whenever she spoke about Tony. She spoke about him as if he were her own son.

The next picture she showed him was a formal family picture. It showed Howard and another dark haired woman sitting on a chaise lounge with Edith and Tony sitting at their feet. Tony looked to be slightly older than the last picture and was sitting in Edith's lap.

"That's Maria, she was Howard's wife." Her voice was oddly sad.

"How did they die?"

"They were heading to a conference out of town. I stayed behind with Tony while he was on break from school." Her voice was thick as she spoke to him. "Their driver lost control of the car and careened off of the road, they were killed on the spot. Tony was only 13 years old…"

Steve sat back in his seat while he thought back to his own parent's deaths, both had eventually left him, alone and scared. His heart ached for Tony, becoming and orphan at such a young age.

"I was made Tony's legal guardian while Howard's business partner, _Obadiah,_ took over Stark Industries until Tony turned 18."

The way she said this new mans name didn't slip past him, but he figured that he would let it go for now.

"Hey Edith, can you come up front for a sec, there's a phone call for you?" A larger man with curly hair came out from the cockpit of the plane.

"Sure Happy, I'll be back in just a minute Steve. Here, go ahead and keep going through the albums." She slipped out of the chair, handing him the tablet as she went by.

Steve was more than a little ashamed to admit that he stole a quick glance at her backside as she made her way down the aisle…

Knock it off Rogers…

Trying to ignore the constant bumps and drops of the place; Steve settled back in his seat and began trying to drag his fingers across the screen. It wasn't working for him as easily as it had for Edith, taking him several attempts before getting the hang of the odd flat device.

There were so many memories that exploded from the screen, all with one core theme: Edith and Tony.

Edith and Tony sitting in front of Christmas trees, blowing out the candles of birthday cakes, ripping open colorful presents…

Edith and Tony at visiting aquariums, posing at the zoo, playing on beaches…

Edith and Tony…

The more pictures Steve looked at, the sadder he could feel himself becoming.

Here laid out in front of him was Edith's life, her family; all of her accomplishments and her happiness.

It became clear to Steve that Edith had gotten on with her life, she had surrounded herself with a new family, one that Steve was not a part of.

For the first time since agreeing to go to California with her, he felt unsure.

The images in his head that he had built of things being just like they were when they were kids, Steve began to realize, was not realistic.

A snapshot of a teenage Tony holding Edith bridal style, both laughing and grinning ear to ear, caught his eye. It must have been taken at Tony's graduation since he was wearing a long robe and tasseled hat. It was painfully clear that things had changed.

It wasn't 1925 anymore, and Steve was not longer her favorite person.

She has replaced him…

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Director Fury, I'm so happy you called, it's been so long…" Edith rolled her eyes as she made a lewd hang gesture to the phone; Happy chuckled behind her.

"Ms. Stark, I just wanted to make sure that you and I were on the same page about our agreement."

"How many times do you want me to go over this with you? I understand what you want, and I'm open to it. So long as you are perfectly clear about what I expect in return."

"Open to it? You had better be more than just open to it Ms. Stark. I certainly hope that I didn't just give you SHIELD's most promising new asset for nothing!"

"Asset huh? You really like to make your employees feel like they are more than just a number don't ya?"

Edith cradled the phone to her ear with her shoulder as she took the stopper out of the crystal bottle of scotch that sat on the bar, pouring herself a hearty glass full and taking a long sip of amber liquid before she continued.

"Listen Fury, I'm well aware that in return for taking Steve back to California with me, you want me for the Avengers Initiative. And like I told you before, I'm open to it so long as you agree to one thing. The only thing I want is for my information to be classified, my file is to be off limits to anyone but you; not Price, not Romanoff, not even Coulson… just you."

"Ms. Stark, there are certain things that even I can't do…"

"Take it or leave it Nick, that's the only way I'll go with this. I've spent a lot of time and energy keeping myself dead, and I'd like it to stay that way."

An exasperated sigh floated through the phone as she took another healthy gulp of scotch.

"Alright… You win. I'll have your original military file pulled from the archives and kept in my own personal storage. As far as a new file goes, I will forgo creating it for now. But let me make myself clear Stark, if you should back out on our agreement, I will make things very unpleasant for you. Do we have an understanding?

"Agreed. Now if you will do me a tremendous solid and leave me alone that would be fantastic."

Edith drained her glass and ended the call.

"You gonna tell Tony you sold your soul to the enemy?" Happy chuckled from his seat next to where she stood.

"No I am not, and you aren't going to tell either. You owe me Happy, I still have the photo's from Vegas and I am not afraid to feature them on the front page of the next Stark Industries news letter."

Happy looked up at her with as much shock and hurt as he could muster.

"Low blow Montana."

"What can I say, first you get the money, then you get the power, and then you get the women." Edith lunged out to grapple one of Happy's breasts before ducking into the cockpit.

"How close are we Carl?"

The pilot looked back at her with a smile.

"We're there kiddo, about ready to make our descent so you should probably take a seat and strap in."

Edith peered out the window to look out over Los Angeles.

Finally… Home.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

"If you took all the girls I knew

When I was single

And brought them all together

For one night

I know they'd never match

My sweet imagination

Everything looks worse

In black and white."

ooooooooooooooooooooo


	5. I'm coming home

**Hello all, so sorry for the delays with updates! Here is chapter 4, hope you all enjoy and stick around to see where this all goes!**

 **As always, Marvel owns everything and I own nothing!**

 **SF**

 **O0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

 **Born to Die**

Chapter 4:

I'm coming home

I'm coming home – Skylar Gray

Ooooooooooooooooooo

"I'm coming home

I'm coming home

Tell the world I'm coming home

Let the rain wash away

All the pain of yesterday

I know my kingdom waits

And they've forgiven my mistakes

I'm coming home

I'm coming home

Tell the world I'm coming…."

Oooooooooooooooo

 _1942_

It was hard to tell when the pain faded away, but what it left in its trail was wonderful. A strange bliss took its place, one that coursed through her body, making her practically hum with energy.

 _Even though she was still shrouded in darkness, things were different. Her legs didn't feel fatigued, her lungs didn't struggle to take in air, and she felt completely at ease._

 _Maybe she was dead…_

" _I think she's coming around, her brain activity is spiking."_

 _Howard? Was that Howard's voice? Edith struggled through the fog and tried to make herself open her eyes._

" _That's it, come on beautiful, open those eyes."_

 _She must be dead; Hell would have to have frozen over twice before someone would refer to her as beautiful._

 _Letting out a gruff moan, Edith gave it everything she had and forced her eyes to crack open._

 _Bright light assaulted her sensitive eyes, making her squint. Doctors in white masks swam in and out of her line of vision until she focused her eyes on the face of Howard Stark._

" _There you are, welcome back kid."_

" _Where have I been?" Her words were no more than a croak, alerting her to her desperate need for a drink of water. Her arms groped out mindlessly, looking for something, anything._

" _Whoa there darlin', take it easy. I'll get it." Howard's hand slipped behind her neck, elevating her slightly as he tipped a cup of water to her lips._

" _Where am I?" Her brain was gelatin; she couldn't remember anything other than the pain. Why had there been so much pain?_

 _Steve, Captain America, Dr. Erskine… Lady Liberty. It all came rushing back to her. Being shut into that POD…_

" _Oh God…" Her stomach lurched as she fought to keep the small sip of water in her body. Her entire body began to panic at the memory._

" _Just breath Edith, everything is fine, you're ok, I've got you." Something was off about his face, something she couldn't quite focus on._

" _What happened?"_

 _Howard only stared at her for a few moments before letting out a long sigh._

" _There was a problem, something that we didn't foresee. But you don't have to worry, you're ok, you're good. You are… perfect."_

 _Howard turned away from her and barked for someone to bring a mirror. Several people scrambled around before someone placed a framed hand mirror into his hands. He searched her eyes briefly before handing it over to her._

 _The mirror seemed to weight a ton as it sat in her hands; its golden frame gleamed in the overhead lights._

 _Taking a deep breath she squeezed her eyes shut and raised it up to her face._

 _When she opened her eyes, the face she stared into was not a face she recognized. This person was far too pretty, too bright, too entrancing. This face was beautiful…._

 _She let out a sobbing laugh as she touched her face. This couldn't be real, it was too much, too perfect._

" _Is this real, am I dreaming?"_

" _It's real alright, this is you now Edith."_

 _It worked, it had all worked out. The pain didn't matter anymore, nothing else mattered now. She did it and she couldn't wait to see the look on Steve's face when he saw her now._

" _When will Steve be back? Has he seen me yet?"_

 _Howard's smile faltered and his eyes seemed to age years in a matter of seconds._

" _What's wrong? Where is Steve?"_

 _Howard reached out to brush his knuckled across her cheek._

" _We need to talk…"_

ooooooooooooooooo

Los Angeles was a very different place from New York, Steve had never actually seen a palm tree in real life before; and here they littered the terrain like lampposts back home. People in what looked like underwear walked freely along the sidewalks, walking their dogs and conversing with one another. The houses were ridiculous; they looked like museums due to their size.

The man Edith had called Happy drove them until the houses began to fade away and there was nothing but palm trees and road, before finally approaching the largest house Steve had ever seen in his life.

Dusk was just beginning to creep up as they pulled to a stop in front of the main doors.

"Home sweet home!" Edith smiled as they pulled to a stop.

"This is a house?" Steve balked as he got out, stretching his long legs.

The house was vast and open with huge windows, the place looked like it was made of glass.

"Yep, this is a house. Well it's a house as well as Tony's workspace. We added on to the structure after Tony's…incident. We needed more space for the Iron Man collection."

"What's an Iron Man?"

"You'll see soon enough, the main level of the house is the living space and all of Tony's workspace is underground."

Edith entered in a code to the illuminated screen by the large metal doors before they automatically opened.

"Good evening ma'am; welcome home, Mr. Stark has been anxiously awaiting your arrival." A strange foreign voice greeted them the second they walked inside.

"Who's talking to you?" Steve looked around trying to find the source of the voice.

"That would be Jarvis, he runs the internal functions of the house. Hello Jarvis, has he been keeping out of trouble while I've been away?"

Edith looked so natural as she made her way around the enormous foyer space, setting her purse down, checking through a stack of envelopes as she spoke.

"Define trouble ma'am."

Edith laughed, smiling wide.

"Touché Javis… Jarvis this is Steven Rogers, please give him a level three clearance for the house and add his fingerprints to the archive please."

Edith came up beside him, walked him over to the nearest wall and took his hand, pressing it up against another illuminated screen.

"Very good ma'am, I have added Mr. Rogers fingerprint and DNA profiles to the archives and assigned him a level three clearance for the house with restricted access to Mr. Stark's laboratories. Will there be anything else?"

"Nope, I think that will do it. Speaking of Tony, where is my darling sunflower?"

"It looks like he's heading up from the lower levels as we speak."

"Perfect, thank you Javis."

"Is this a house or a military base? How many clearance level are there?" He was baffled, this all seemed pretty excessive for somebody's house.

"There are five clearance levels to the house and extra levels underground. The other two levels give access to the house functions and the underground level is highly classified."

"What's underground, beside laboratories?" He looked up at the expansive ceiling.

"Well if I told you that… I would have to kill you." She looked him dead in the eye, completely somber.

"Why?" Steve balked.

"Yea… sarcasm will be one of the first things we work on. We should get you a little notebook or something so you can write stuff down."

Edith looked at him with a tilted smile before resumed looking through the stacks of envelopes and papers that sat on a nearby table.

"Is all this really necessary?" Steve scratched the back of his neck, motioning towards the control panels on the walls.

"Is it necessary for me to drink my own urine?" The voice rang out behind them, making Steve jump.

Howard Stark's son walked toward them triumphantly from an open doorway, opening his arms wide. Beside Steve, Edith lit up like a million bucks.

"No, but it's sterile and I like the taste!" She beamed and launched herself forward into his waiting arms. "I've missed you O'hulihan!"

Steve could only watch in awe as Tony swooped Edith up into a hug and twirled her around. He had no idea what the hell they were talking about, and kind of didn't want to know. Why would anyone talk about drinking his or her own urine?

They continued to talk and fuss over one another, leaving Steve standing off to the side feeling awkward. His earlier feelings of insecurities intensified the more he continued to stare at them.

After a few moments Edith looked over at him.

"Shit! I'm sorry Steve, how rude!" Edith rushed over and took his hand, trailing him over to where Howard's clone stood.

"Steven Rogers I want you to meet Tony Stark, Howard's son."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Pride swelled inside of her as she introduced Steve to Tony. Stupid as it seemed, she felt almost maternal introducing him; he was the closest thing she would ever have to a child anyways.

Steve looked just as uncomfortable as he did on the plane, out of place and slightly embarrassed. But to his credit he did walk up to Tony and extent his hand, poor thing.

Tony sized Steve up before resting his eyes on Steve's outstretched hand.

"Lovely to meet you and all Cap, here's the thing, I'm not particularly fond of being handed things… so… you know" He kept his eyes on Steve's waiting hand.

Edith could only watch as poor Steve's brow furrowed but his hand continued to remain outstretched.

"For Christ sake Tony." She signed in exasperation, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"What? I don't like to be handed things, you know this."

"He's not handing you anything! That would imply he's trying to give you something. It's just HIS hand, Princess…" She gave him a scathing look, attempting to motion to him with her eyes to take his damn hand.

"Same thing, it… seriously?" Tony faltered, his eyes darting from her to Steve, lowering his voice. "You promised you wouldn't call me that in front of other people anymore."

"Well stop acting like one and I won't!" She tried to make her eyes look venomous as she spoke, she couldn't believe he was pulling this now.

"Well technically I've already met him, kind of… he just wasn't so… you know, conscious." Tony reasoned, shrugging.

"You have GOT to be kidding me…" Edith sighed in defeat.

She continued to quietly argue with him until she felt Steve's gentle fingertips on her elbow.

"Edith. If you don't mind, I'm really exhausted from today. I'd really just like to go to bed."

"Of course, I'm so sorry Steve. We'll finish introducing you to everyone tomorrow, you still need to meet Pepper; she's at a conference and won't be back until late tonight. And maybe _somebody_ will be in a more friendly mood tomorrow." She fixed her eyes on Tony and mouthed 'or else'.

She led Steve towards the back of the house to the room she had set up for him, nothing fancy, she had decorated it as plainly as she could. She thought he would prefer it that way.

Steve stopped in the doorway as she continued inside, explaining everything in the room to him; the television, the music system and such.

"Are you sure you don't need anything else Steve?" She stopped in front of him, reaching out to place her hands on his arms but stopping mid way, putting her hands down awkwardly. She didn't really know how she should act; it had been so long…

"I'll be fine, I just want to rest." His eyes were unreadable.

"Ok, well, sleep tight. If you need anything; just ask Jarvis, he'll hear you…" She paused, shifting back and forth; her emotions were starting to get the better of her. "Goodnight Steve."

"Good Night Edith." They continued to stare at one another for a few moments before he turned into the room.

"Steve" She blurted out, he turned to her, waiting. Wordlessly she moved forward, slipping her arms around his chest and bringing him into a hug. His arms hesitated at his side for a few beats before winding around her.

She savored the feeling of his body against hers for a little while before slipped out of his hold and immediately walking off down the hall.

This was not going to be good…

Oooooooooooooooooo

"Still far away

from where I belong

but it's always darkest

before the dawn

so you can doubt

and you can hate

but I know, no matter what it takes…

oooooooooooooooo


	6. Beside You

**Born to die**

Chapter 5:

Beside You

Beside you – Phildel

"Even if you were upside down

I would be beside you

And your world were a strange thing found

I would be beside you

In my symbolized world I'm a beautiful girl

In my house on the hill there is room for you still

When there's nothing but darkened sound

I will be beside you

When there's nothing but the long way round

I will be beside you

I'll be everywhere you go, you go, you go…"

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There was no way that he was ever going to fall asleep; this mattress was way too soft. Coupled with the fact that he couldn't shut his brain off, there would be no sleep for him tonight.

Steve lay awake in the dark staring at the ceiling, Edith had told him there was a television in his room and had even explained to him how to work the remote control devise. But he had no interest in watching anything; he had tried but the first thing he had turned to was a group of overly tanned women with very large hair talking about their privates…

Nothing about that interested him.

There were too many other things to think about in the silence. Were any of the Howling Commando's still alive? How had he survived the freeze? Where was Peggy? What had happened in the doorway with Edith?

The silence stretched on until a piercing scream rang through the quiet, causing him to shoot up in bed.

He sat frozen in the darkness, straining his ears to hear anything else; maybe his ears were playing tricks on him…

A second scream echoed in the cavernous space, sending him out of bed in an instant. He knew who those screams belonged to…

He was out of his room in a heartbeat, trying to find the room the screaming was coming from. Continuous strangled moans and cries led him to a door at the end of the hall, which stood open.

Steve paused outside the door to Edith's room, trying to slow the pulse thundering in his ears. The room was huge, there looked to be a sitting area towards the front with huge bulking bookcases looming on every wall. Several armchairs flanked a fireplace with clusters of pictures on the mantle. And finally the bed sat against the back wall, he could just barely make out Edith amidst the blankets and pillows.

She lay curled on her side clutching a pillow, her hair plastered to her face and neck form either sweat or tears, or both, he couldn't tell. She looked to be asleep though as she groaned and squirmed.

At her side rubbing her back was Tony in his pajamas. The room was dark save for a strange light coming from the front of his shirt. He was running his hands over her back and her face, crooning soft words to her as she began to calm down and settle.

He moved to stand behind Tony. Just as Steve was just about to speak, Tony held up his hand to stop him.

"Go over to the fireplace, I'll be there in just a minute." His voice was barely a whisper as he continued to sooth Edith.

Steve wanted to argue, wanted to push Tony out of the way and be the one to comfort her. Sudden but powerful urges to be the one to run his hands over her back cramped his gut and puzzled the ever-loving hell out of him.

Steve made his way back over to the sitting area before the fireplace, and was just about to sit himself down when his eyes caught sight of the several framed pictures gleamed in the moonlight.

There was no surprise at the smattering of pictures of Tony growing up mingled with snaps of Howard and Bucky. Just as about he was to look away his eyes caught the photo nestled in the very center of it all, old black and white, yellowed. It was a picture of him and Edith; one of the rare photo's of just the two of them, taken at the fair about a year before the procedure.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"She hasn't had an episode that bad in months… Jarvis how about some mood lighting?" Tony blew out a rush of air as he plopped down into the chair next to Steve. The fireplace before them burst to life, adjusting itself before steadily burning a low glow.

"Episode? You mean this happens often?" Steve cast a worried look over his shoulder back to where Edith seemed to now be resting peacefully.

"Don't worry, she's down for the count now, she should sleep the rest of the night. She's had these episodes off and on for years. It wasn't so bad back in the day; she still had nightmares but nothing like this. The doctors called them night terrors, they started after my 'incident'…" His voice trailed off as his hand absentmindedly rose to touch the orb of light in his chest.

"Edith mentioned an 'incident' earlier, does it have anything to do with the whole Iron Man thing?" Steve sat forward with his elbows on his knees.

"It does…"

Several beats passed by as Tony only stared into the fire.

"Tony… who is Obadiah?"

Tony let out a bitter laugh, leaning back smiling.

"Obadiah Stane was my fathers business partner, his friend. He took over the business after my parents died until I turned 18. He was supposed to be someone we could trust…"

Tony paused, gathering himself before continuing.

"There was a weapons demo in Afghanistan, big deal, lots of cash. Obadiah and Rhodes, my buddy James Rhodes in the military, convinced Edith that she didn't need to go with me on this one. Obadiah was particularly adamant that she not go; Edith usually always travels with me, paranoia you know? She's always convinced that something's going to happen to me if I'm out of her sight. I don't think she's ever forgiven herself for what happened…"

"What happened in Afghanistan?"

Tony stared at him for a few moments before hitching up the bottom of his shirt, revealing a blue circle of light embedded in his chest. Steve could only stare in confused horror, dark veins surrounded the devise making it look angry.

"I became Iron Man."

2005

Her entire Universe had been flopped on its side; everything was wrong, nothing made sense. Terror and panic ravaged her body, making her head spin and her stomach clench. She could barely feel her legs as she ran through the halls of the government building where she was to meet with Rhodes and his commanding officers. Obadiah and Pepper tried to keep her pace but there was no use, no matter how often they called to her to slow down, she wouldn't.

Not Tony, not again, she couldn't live through this again…

 _Without bothering to knock, Edith burst into the room where what seemed like hundreds of people swarmed around._

" _Ms. Stark, thank you so much for coming, I want to assure you we are doing everything we can to find Mr. Stark." A man came forward trying to shake her hand._

 _She couldn't make her eyes focus on anything, everything spun out of control, chaos tore her every which way._

" _Rhodes? Where is James Rhodes?" She could barely form the words._

" _Edith." Her ears shot back as her eyes spun towards the voice._

 _The room seemed to part like the sea, revealing Colonel James Rhodes. She could see his eyes were bloodshot as she made her way toward him. Sadness and regret colored his expression as she neared him close enough to smack him in the face as hard as she could._

" _YOU MISERABLE PIECE OF SHIT, YOU PROMISED ME HE WOULD BE OK! YOU TOLD ME TO STAY BEHIND, EVERYTHING WOULD BE FINE. YOU LIED TO ME. YOU LIED!" Her fists shot out in rapid succession, striking him anywhere and everywhere she could touch him._

 _Others tried to pry her away, but Rhodes ordered them away, allowing her to continue to pummel him._

" _I'm sorry… I'm so sorry Edith."_

" _YOU PROMISED! YOU PROMISED ME!" Her blows became less and less as she dissolved into sobs. Rhodes caught her as she sagged into him, letting herself go._

 _Obadiah came up behind her in attempt to shift her over into his embrace._

 _Edith whirled around, shoving him away._

" _Get the hell away from me! This is just as much your fault as it is his, you told me I was being ridiculous, that I was coddling him too much. 'You fuss too much over the boy, let him grow up'… Well look at where we are now Stane!"_

" _Edith please, just calm down…" Obadiah's face was a hard mask of control._

" _We WILL find him Edith, I promise you that, if it's the last thing I do. I will find him." Rhodes voice was calm and level behind her._

 _Edith whipped around, looking him dead in the eyes._

" _You're promises mean shit to me Rhodes… don't promise me anything, just help me… help me find him."_

" _Just tell me what you need."_

" _The full cooperation of the United States Military for starters…"_

 _Rhodes could only stare into her frantic eyes before the smiling._

" _I'll see what I can do."_

Tony proceeded to tell him about the attack, how he was taken hostage, the shrapnel and the devise put into his chest. Steve could only sit back and listen as Tony recounted how he constructed the first Iron Man suite out of scrap metal in a cave and managed to escape only to roam the desert for days.

"She was the one to find me… She threw shit tons of money into the search and rescue mission, she even insisted on being present during each search wave that went over Afghanistan. They were just about to pull the plug on the whole operations when she spotted me, damn near broke her legs jumping out of the helicopter to get to me.

Obadiah managed to force Edith and me out of our own company, took over and stole the arc reactor from me, making a suite for himself. He was obsessed with Edith, always had been, tried to do bad things to her, hurt her. I was able to stop him but the whole ordeal scarred her pretty badly."

Tony sat back in his chair, closing his eyes. Steve continued to stare at the orb of light in his chest, feeling complete and utter awe at the devise keeping him alive.

"We've been through hell more times that I care to admit, her and I. About a year and a half ago the son of an old associate of my father's, Ivan Vanko, came into the picture. Vanko was insane and obsessed with getting revenge on my father for stealing idea's that supposedly belonged to his father. Vanko led a massive terrorist attack; he even recognized Edith from old photos, went after her. We were able to bring him down but it took a major toll…

It amazes the hell out of me each and ever day that she's able to function the way that she does. With a smile on her face even. She's been there right beside me from the day I was born… I owe a lot to her."

Tony continued to talk but Steve leaned back in his chair; it felt like someone had put a weight on his chest. Sorrow for Edith and Tony both overtook him. His heart ached mostly for Edith, she had lost her brother, him, and then Howard; all this while having to carry the weight of several lifetimes on her shoulders. Not to mention raising Tony…

He couldn't help but feel like a nuisance now, just one more think Edith had to deal with…

He fell asleep mulling everything over.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Something pulled Edith out of the deep sleep she was in, rubbing her swollen eyes as she sat up. The light from the fireplace illuminated the front portion of her room, alerting her to someone in one of her armchairs.

Smiling, she slid out of bed, it was probably Tony; he often would fall asleep in a chair after calming her back to sleep from a nightmare.

Snagging a blanket, she tiptoed over to the fireplace. She slid her fingers over the top of the armchair as she rounded to drape the blanket over him and kiss him on the forehead.

Edith pressed her lips to his forehead briefly before pulling back to smile into the face of not Tony…but Steve.

Her heart skipped a beat, surprise snapping her head back, hand flying up to her lips.

Suddenly she became hyper aware of how close her body was to his as she hovered above him, her knee lightly pressed up against his inner thigh. She couldn't help but linger in the close proximity, eyes wandering over his sleeping features. His breath was coming out in a steady rhythm, chest gently rising and falling.

For a moment she could almost see that scrawny kid from Brooklyn. She missed that kid with all of her heart, this person before her was a mystery; sure he was still Steve Rogers… but things were so different now. She was so different now, maybe that was the real reason for her anxiety; she was the stranger. He didn't know the first thing about her as Edith Stark. How on earth was she going to explain her life to him, the things she'd done… Howard, Maria… Richard.

Oh God Richard! That was something she would push off until absolutely necessary; she needed to focus on the issue at hand.

Why the hell was he in her room, sleeping of all things? And why was she still pretty much in his lap? Awkwardly she maneuvered herself up and away from his slumbering form.

She thought about waking him and making him go back to his room… but he just looked so damn peaceful.

With a sigh of defeat she covered him with the blanket and tiptoed out of the room, pulling the door closed.

What the hell, it was pretty much dawn anyways… She padded downstairs towards to pool area to take it out on the water.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hey all, thank you so much for your being patient. I know I've been slacking in the updates department. Life is a bitch sometimes and gets in the way of fun stuff! I will try to get some regular updates going.

And just for the record, I own nothing Marvel related ;)

SR


End file.
